


Afternoon Stroll

by alley_oops, jennandanica



Series: Citadel: Logan Marshall-Green and KJ Apa [5]
Category: Actor RPF, Citadel (Journalfen RPG), New Zealand Actor RPF, Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: BDSM, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 21:31:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16127150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alley_oops/pseuds/alley_oops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandanica/pseuds/jennandanica
Summary: Logan (AU) is ex-military, ex-mercenary, mostly retired, and occasionally works for  AU Tommy Flanagan who sponsored him into Citadel. He's also good friends with AU Antony Starr and Stephen Amell*. He has family money as well as his own. He struggles with PTSD. He was involved with AU Rafael Lazzini but that relationship ended roughly 10 months ago. Their storyline can be foundhere.Citadel knows Logan's past occupation(s) and current connections and they couldn't care less as long as he's not involving the organization directly in anything illegal.KJ (AU) is busy traveling the world while he tries to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life after having made a huge sum of money from an app he developed. He's been aged up to 31.*their storyline is posted under my name





	Afternoon Stroll

**Author's Note:**

> Citadel is a role-playing game which revolves around a private, adult, membership-only organization of the same name officially founded in Sarlat, France in 1856. The mission of this organization is to provide comfortable and safe settings world-wide for adults to engage in consensual alternative sexual expression.
> 
> The majority of characters are celebrities but nothing is meant to be implied about their real life counterparts. This is a role-playing game and everything contained herein (and in all game-related journals) is complete and utter fiction.

"So this whole neighbourhood was founded by this tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905. He called it the Venice of America and had this vision of it as this beach resort town," Logan explains as they step out of the house and he locks up behind them. "Originally there were way more canals but as cars became more popular they filled in a lot of them and made roads instead."

"I never knew that. How Venice Beach got its name," KJ remarks with a smile. "Do you do that wherever you go, study up on the history of a place?"

Logan ducks his head a little. "Yeah. I'm a bit of a history buff," he says. "And I read like crazy so anytime I wonder about something, I end up looking it up and that just takes me down one rabbit hole after another."

"That's really cool. And with all the different places you've traveled, that's a whole lot of knowledge," KJ says, watching him sidelong as they walk. "You'll never run out of things to talk about at parties."

Logan laughs. "True, although I'm not much of a party person," he admits, pointing out some of the older houses and more interesting features of the canals. "Never was. I like it best when it's just me and a few friends."

"That's really all you need, just a few good friends. And people party _hard_ in this town. It's toxic," KJ says. He brushes the back of his hand against Logan's. "I definitely got my fill."

"Do you do drugs?" Logan asks, curious, turning his hand to link it with KJ's now that he's been reminded they can touch.

"A little. Not the hard stuff, though. Just E and some weed," KJ answers. "You?" He's guessing not; it seems like Logan's on a heavy load of drugs already.

"I used to smoke weed and I still like the occasional toke," Logan says, rubbing his thumb over the back of KJ's hand, "but I'm already on enough stuff that I tend to stick to alcohol and only a drink or two these days."

"I reckon getting you drunk and seducing you is off the table." KJ grins. He feels high, elated. Blessed to be out walking the world with Logan like they haven't a care.

Logan laughs. "You've already seduced me," he points out. "Thoroughly. I'm completely besotted." His smile faltering a fraction as the words, said mostly in jest, sink in. Fuck. He gives KJ's hand another squeeze even as he looks away, points out another house.

 _Besotted_. KJ smiles at the old-fashioned notion of the word. He listens as Logan narrates, but more than the words he's paying attention to the rolling sound of Logan's voice, the peaks and dips as he speaks. "I like listening to you."

"Yeah?" Logan grins, teasing, "You like my accent?"

"I do, yeah. Everything you say sounds interesting and sexy," KJ confesses with a laugh.

"I feel the same way about yours," Logan says, pausing them in the middle of one of the small bridges spanning the canals. "I'm used to hearing Antony but that's different. He sounds different. And I sure as hell don't think of him as sexy." He laughs. 

"I'm glad. I want to be the only one you find sexy," KJ teases back, looping his arms around Logan's neck. Pulling him in for a kiss.

Logan leans into the kiss, moaning softly, losing himself in KJ's mouth, in the feel of him. Real and warm and solid, his hands on the small of KJ's back, slipping under his t-shirt.

That moan is nearly as good as a touch to KJ's cock, and he softly echoes it. Eases back with a grin against Logan's lips. "I've never really done this before," he whispers. "Been out with a man like this."

Huh. "I thought for sure you had, when you asked how discreet we had to be."

"Nah. I really like it, though." KJ likes pretending that they're together, like boyfriends. And he supposes that, for the day, they are. "Tell me more about the houses," he says with a grin. "I want to listen to you."

Logan laughs and kisses KJ again before continuing, "So in 1929, they filled in most of the canals, and by 1940, the rest of the canals were in really bad shape and the sidewalks along them condemned. The whole district was pretty rundown and no one could agree on who would clean things up and so it stayed that way until 92 when these five canals were restored - the four east-west ones and the one north-south one - and the whole neighbourhood was put on the historic register," adding with a smile, "which pretty much guaranteed it would become insanely expensive in no time."

"The historic register? Your house, too? That is so cool." KJ slides his hands down to the small of Logan's back, savouring the simple embrace for what it is. 

"Yeah and I have one of the few double lots and permitted docks," Logan says. "I got really lucky when I bought the place. I was passing by when the owner was out working on his garden and we got to talking and he told me he was about to put the place on the market. He'd had it appraised already so I just offered him that amount and told him he could save himself the real estate fees if he sold to me directly."

KJ tried to wrap his head around that. "Did you offer him cash?"

Logan nods. "I have family money," he explains. "I'm pretty well-off on my own but my grandfather set up a trust when I was born and I put a fair bit of it into buying the house - and my sailboat."

"Ah, I see." KJ slides his hand from nape to hip, one smooth caress. And he figures it's a good job his interest in Logan definitely predated that little bombshell.

Logan's not entirely sure how to read KJ's reaction but he guesses it doesn't really matter. The man's moving on soon and obviously his app must have netted him some decent money or he wouldn't be doing the trip he's doing. "Are you hungry?" he asks, changing the whole subject. "I was thinking we'd grab some Thai before heading down to the beach."

"Yeah, okay." KJ can't let him go without one more kiss, though, brief as it is. He steps back with his lips tingling, and a grin on his face.

And even though he's promised himself he wouldn't say anything, Logan can't help it. "I wish you lived here or were staying longer," he says, quickly adding, "but I know you've got your plans and I'm enjoying this for what it is."

The words echo KJ's thoughts, the loop they've been running on for the past day. "Really?" he asks, hope in his eyes. "You don't think I'd be too much for you to deal with, if I were around more?

"Not at all," Logan says, smiling and shaking his head, wondering what KJ thinks is 'too much' about himself. "I think you'd be good for me."

 _I think I would be, too_ , KJ thinks, but he doesn't say it. He's too busy gathering his courage for a leap into the unknown. "Do you..." he takes a deep breath. "Do you want to come to Iceland with me? Just for a week or two, you'd be back in time for your job, I was just thinking since you've never been there, it would be cool to go someplace neither of us has gone..."

Logan stares at KJ for a moment, the question sinking in, and then he grins. "I'd love to," and why not? He's got the money, the time, no other plans. "Seriously? I thought you were heading north first?"

A smile spreads like sunshine across KJ's face. "That's still north," he points out, hooking a finger into the waistband of Logan's jeans.

"You know what I mean," Logan says, but KJ's answer already tells him all he needs to know. "I'll have to take my meds, the heavier ones at night. You sure you won't mind?"

"I don't actually know what it's like when you're not taking your heavier meds. It's okay with me if it's okay with you. There won't be any problem with you taking them a couple weeks in a row?" KJ slips his hand just under the hem of Logan's blue t-shirt and lightly strokes his skin.

"Nah, I have to take them that long for work sometimes," Logan says, and he's a lot more okay with that now than he was in the past, the side effects something he's come to accept as part of feeling better in general. "I've heard Iceland's very LGBT friendly," he adds with a smile, enjoying the casual yet intimate touch.

"Then we should definitely check it out. And I'll personally make sure you've got something good to wake up to each morning," KJ grins.

Logan grins back. "This is sounding better and better," he murmurs. "Let's go eat and talk over the details."

Soon they're seated in a small restaurant, spooning up tom yum soup with brightly colored decorations surrounding them. "We have to go to the hot springs, of course," KJ says. He's nearly bouncing in his chair with excitement: Logan said _yes_. "And you'll bring your camera, right?"

"Definitely," Logan nods, getting a real kick of how animated KJ is. "We might not be able to see the Northern Lights since it's summer but we can go whale watching and I'm assuming you like hiking?"

"Definitely. Country boy," KJ says, pointing at his chest. He sips at his tea and grins over his cup at Logan. "We'll have to be sure and pick up a book about Leif Erikson for you to read on the plane."

"I thought you were from Auckland?" Logan says, cocking his head.

"I am, but my mum is a big nature girl. She was always kicking us outside. And on every holiday from school we'd go inland, to Tongariro or Tauranga..." KJ explains.

"I've been to Tongariro," Logan says, thrilled to recognize one of the names.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" KJ can't help a bit of patriotic pride; he believes every bit that his homeland is the most beautiful country in the world. "Where else in New Zealand did you visit?"

"I was working a security detail," Logan says, figuring that's safe - and true - enough. "So I was following this couple - my friend and his husband - on their honeymoon. They went from Wellington by train to Tongariro, stayed in this private eco lodge there and did a whole bunch of hiking and then took the train again to Auckland."

"Wait, so you got _paid_ to tour New Zealand? Nicely done." KJ laughs. "Is it weird doing that kind of close-up security for your friends?"

"I wouldn't do it for most of them," Logan says, "but Antony's a special case and it wasn't too close-up. His husband's an actor and they got married in secret so we were mostly keeping the paparazzi and any nosy fans away." Once again, it's close enough to the truth.

KJ is wildly curious, but more than that he's amused. "Did you wear dark sunglasses?" he asks, his eyes sparkling. "And one of those Secret Service earpieces?"

Logan laughs. "No to the sunglasses, yes to the earpiece, but only to communicate with the other guys who were on detail with me. We were to stay out of the happy couple's way as much as possible."

"Yeah, that wouldn't work for me," KJ reveals with a snicker. "If you're going to be my hot bodyguard fantasy, then you need to go the full nine." He sits back and nods his thanks at the server who lays his pad thai before him.

"Hey, if you want to roleplay that sometime, I will totally do the whole thing for you," Logan teases back, groaning at the sight and smell of his pad see ew. Sometimes his appetite's a little off these days but this is definitely not one of those times.

"Really?" Even without the words, Logan's groan would distract KJ immediately. Appreciation for food just sounds so much like appreciation for sex, sometimes. "That could be a lot of fun."

"You like roleplay?" Logan asks, dipping his spring roll in the sweet plum sauce and taking a bite.

"I do, sometimes. Sometimes it just feels silly," KJ replies, a tad self-conscious. "But when it's good, it's awesome. You?"

"Yeah. I haven't done much but I liked what I've done," Logan says, digging into his noodles. "I've done an interrogation scene and I did a whole day male escort/first-time john thing."

"Wow." KJ is impressed, his imagination racing, and it takes him a beat to remember to keep eating. "That sounds really intense. And you were the john, I'm guessing?"

Logan nods. "The idea was I'd come out of a long marriage and this was the first time I'd been with a guy - well, _really_ been with a guy." He laughs.

KJ's own lips curve, that laugh seeming to resonate in him. "And you did it all day? Was that hard?"

"We got really into our characters and making up their stories. It wasn't just sex," Logan explains, "so it was pretty fun."

It's an intriguing idea. "Did you go back and play them again later?" KJ asks. "Did you fall in love?"

"We didn't, but I like to think they would have," Logan says, feeling like he should admit, "This was with my ex, Rafael. I hope it's not too tacky, me talking about things we did together."

"It's okay." KJ ducks his head on a bashful smile. "I asked you, anyway. Was that the favorite roleplay you've done?"

Logan shakes his head, that smile doing all sorts of weird things to him. "No, strangely enough, given what I've been through, it was the interrogation one."

"Yeah, I was surprised when you mentioned that." KJ twirls glass noodles into his spoon. "That didn't give you flashbacks or anything? I've been trying... I mean, I don't know what not to say."

"You don't have to be careful with me," Logan says, making sure KJ knows that. Especially before they travel together. "Not too careful anyway. I'll let you know if I'm having a bad day and the meds keep me pretty even. As for the scene... I was on the other end of things and I was careful to make sure nothing was too close to my own experience."

KJ swallows his mouthful and hesitates just an instant, then stacks his arms on the table and leans in. Drops his voice. "Have you ever caned anyone?"

"Yeah." Logan nods.

"Wow," KJ says with a laugh. "Okay, let's add that to the list of stuff I really really want, but I'm too scared to try."

"Why too scared?" Logan asks, genuinely curious. "You seem to have a pretty high pain tolerance and it's not like you need to start out with someone leaving you unable to walk for days."

"I guess I'm afraid of embarrassing myself. Like, trying something intense and then chickening out halfway through."

"But there's nothing wrong with that," Logan says, thinking of all the things he wouldn't have done in his life if he let possible embarrassment stop him. "It's like anything in life. You think something sounds fun, you try it, start out slow, and you either like it or not or decide a week later, on second thought, you do want to try it again." He grins. "And if you're trying it with someone who would make you feel shitty about deciding you don't like it, then they're the problem, not you."

"Really? Like, oh, random example," KJ says, his mouth quirking, "you wouldn't be disappointed in me if we tried something and it went that way?"

"Not at all," Logan says bluntly, honestly. "I'd just be thrilled you picked me to try it with in the first place."

Now KJ rests his chin in his hand. "You know, when you say things like that, it makes me feel all gooey inside," he says and chuckles, but doesn't take his eyes off Logan's.

Logan smiles, staring back, feeling pretty gooey inside himself. He glances away for a second, just to make sure no one's paying them any mind, but then his attention's right back on KJ. "Tell me more about what you have done, when you figured out you liked this stuff, who you've played with..."

"Ahhh, getting down to the hard-hitting questions now." KJ doesn't even look around to check for an audience; he trusts Logan. "Let's see, I first played around with kink with some girlfriends of mine, early twenties. My fiancée and I fooled around with it some— spanking, bondage, orgasm control. And meanwhile, I just wanted to get fucked, but she was kind of squeamish about that." He breaks off with a sigh and a shake of his head before he continues. "I started clicking more with men... Plus, the women I've met who were willing to backhand me as hard as I liked, I'm just generally not attracted to. The stereotypical dominatrix type."

Logan nods. "It's been a long while since I've been with a woman," he says with a chuckle. "I still think I'm bi, I mean there are women I'm attracted to, but that attraction doesn't usually translate into raging lust."

"Yeah," KJ nods in understanding. "You, same question: when did you know? How?"

Having already told KJ about his PTSD, the last thing Logan wants to do is share the shit that happened to him as a child and how that figured into his sexuality. "Early teens, and I think I was just wired that way. Drawn to people who liked what I wanted. Who wanted to be treated roughly."

KJ scrapes his teeth over his bottom lip, a sudden shiver moving through him. "Did you ever go through a submissive phase, or were you always the one in control?"

"The second," Logan says with a laugh and a bit of a sheepish grin. "I also don't bottom," he confesses, watching KJ closely for his reaction.

Nodding, KJ swallows the last of his delicious pad Thai. "That's kind of what I figured," he says, and can't help but grin. "If that means I get fucked twice as much then I'm all for it."

Logan laughs, delighted, relieved. "You'd be surprised how many guys think I'm not serious about that," he says, aware he's fallen behind in eating. "Try and sneak a finger in."

"Oh, well, that's different. I mean, to me anyway: I didn't realize no bottoming necessarily meant no penetration," KJ says, feeling like he just dodged a bullet. "It's good you told me."

"Yeah, sorry," Logan says, sitting back, done with his food. "You okay with that?"

"Totally." KJ reaches out to link his fingers with Logan's. "It's nothing to be sorry for, though. I was serious about you fucking me even more."

Logan's grin is back at that and he gives KJ's fingers a squeeze. "Do you want anything else or should we head out?"

"Let's get some mango sticky rice to bring back home. I love that stuff, but I need to walk off lunch first," KJ answers, still a little dazzled that he managed to put that look on Logan's face. 

"I was planning on keeping you out a few more hours," Logan says, gesturing to their server for the bill, "but there's another place we can grab it from on our way home."

"Yeah, okay," KJ says, reaching for his wallet. "Where to next?"

"Beach, water, boardwalk," Logan says, nodding at KJ's wallet. "You should let me get this. Save your money for the big things."

KJ grins. "Big things, like the size of Iceland?" He slips his wallet back into his pocket and watches Logan for a moment. "Don't spoil me," he says in a dry tone — very forced, for him. "I'll become insufferable." He can't keep a straight face.

"I find that hard to believe," Logan says, laughing and running his card through the machine before handing it back to the waitress. "Thanks."

Waiting for Logan to lead, KJ follows him out of the restaurant and back out onto the pavement. "I never would've guessed how good that place was," he says, looking again at its unassuming facade. "I guess when you've lived here for a while, you learn about all the hidden gems."

Logan nods. "Yeah, and my rule of thumb is always - aside from cleanliness - the smaller, more unassuming the place is, the better - and more authentic - the food."

"Did you get to try any authentic Samoan food when you visited New Zealand?" KJ asks. "Fresh-caught crab, done up in coconut milk," he presses a hand to his chest. "Be still, my heart."

"No," Logan looks seriously regretful. "That sounds really good. Maybe I'll make it back someday."

"Yeah, you should," KJ agrees, casting him a sidelong glance. "I'll show you the best places to eat, the sickest surfing spots..."

"You mean I get my own personal guide?" Logan grins. "That's making it even more appealing."

"Definitely. Since I don't have a place at the moment, you can even see the inside of lots of hotel rooms with me," KJ jokes, glad he didn't scare Logan off by suggesting something so far off in a nebulous future.

"I like hotels," Logan volunteers. "I spent so many years bunking in barracks and sharing quarters with a crew, anything with even a modicum of space and a real bed seems like luxury."

"I can't even imagine," KJ muses with a shake of his head. "On your job coming up, are you going to be in close quarters again? In Colombia?"

Logan shakes his head. "No, now I get to travel on my own and Tommy makes sure I'm put up in very nice places." He glances at KJ. "Most of what I do is consulting now," yeah, that's a good name for it. "Reviewing security, advising how things can be improved, that sort of thing."

"That sounds interesting. I reckon it's a great use for all that hands-on experience you've gotten over the years." KJ takes Logan's hand as they walk, and it feels even better now than it did the first time.

Logan glances at their hands, amazed at how perfectly they fit. "It is, and it's the least I can do to help Tommy out," he says, pointing out various landmarks as they make their way down to the boardwalk, very close to where they first met.

"Oh yeah, I remember this corner. I was drunk and wandering around here that night before we met," KJ says, an abashed grin on his face. "I was lucky as hell I met you, because I think those pancakes staved off the hangover."

Logan laughs. "You're lucky as hell you met me and not some weirdo who might have taken advantage of you," he teases with a playful leer.

"I wasn't too sure about you at first," KJ laughs back. "You looked a little sketchy to be honest. But then, there's that mouth..." Pausing in his steps, he strokes his thumb across Logan's bottom lip.

"Is that what made you trust me?" Logan asks, eyes sparkling, something in his chest catching hard at that touch and the way KJ's looking at him.

"No." God, why _did_ KJ trust Logan at the first? "I still didn't trust you until the next day on the boat, after you fucked me. But your mouth was what made me take you up on your offer of breakfast."

"And today you asked me to come to Iceland with you," Logan points out, suddenly very aware that 'the next day on the boat' was just yesterday.

"Yeah." KJ drags a hand through his hair, suddenly self-conscious. "I... I've been accused of being impulsive in the past. But," he quirks an eyebrow, "you did say yes."

"Maybe because I'm equally impulsive," Logan grins, not caring that they're basically stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing the few people out walking to go around them. "But you know, I believe in things being right or not right and going with your gut instinct. We seemed to have clicked, I really like you and I've never been to Iceland. It's a chance for me to get to know you better and get out of my own head, which I've been spending _way_ too much time in lately."

KJ smiles a little. "I'll get you out of your head," he mutters, and takes Logan's face between his hands to kiss him.

Logan's been told he's a good kisser but KJ? Fuck. KJ's in a class all his own, making Logan's head swim and everything else fall away.

With a soft moan, KJ eases back, although he indulges himself with a last lick to Logan's bottom lip. "And that's why I'm always right," he jokes, because damned if he can recall precisely what they were discussing.

Logan laughs. "Keep kissing me like that and I'm pretty sure I'll agree," he returns, too happy right now to even try holding back.

"I'll be sure to remember that," KJ says with a laugh, feeling pretty blitzed himself. "Umm," he looks up as a bicycle zings past him. The bustle of the crowd is picking up the further down the beach they go. "That way?"

"Yeah, you okay with that?" Logan asks, taking KJ's hand again. "I thought you might like to see more of the boardwalk."

"Yeah, sounds great." They pass a t-shirt stand with its hundreds of colorful offerings and blaring music, a store advertising the best milkshakes on the boardwalk, and come to a shopfront with clothing and jewelry set out to attract the attention of passersby. KJ cocks his head in interest, and points out a selection of rings to Logan. "Look, I think that one used to be a fork," he says, stepping out of the current of people.

"That's really cool," Logan says. "I like the colour and the whole handmade look. Do you wear jewelry?" he asks KJ.

"Um. Sometimes. I feel naked without my watch, though," KJ says, self-consciously holding a hand over his wrist. He quirks a grin at his companion. "It's a bad habit I'm trying to break while I'm on holiday."

Logan grins back. "You don't find yourself looking at your phone?"

"I'm trying not to," KJ protests with a laugh. He points out another sculpted ring, this one silver. "That's a spoon. I guess you can get a whole dinnerware set."

"And if you don't care for cutlery, you can go for hardware instead," Logan says, pointing out a long nail formed into a cuff.

"Oh my god, that's brilliant," KJ exclaims. He looks around furtively before gently brushing the nail's point. "You can do some damage with that. It's beautiful."

Logan grins. "Would you wear it?"

KJ glances aside at him in surprise. Logan's words filter back to him -- _Are you asking? Or are you offering?_ "Yeah, I would."

"Will you let me get it for you?" Logan asks.

"What, to remember you by?" KJ kisses Logan, his cheeks flushing. "Yes."

Logan grabs the attention of the guy running the shop, waving him over. "You want to wear it or should I have him wrap it up?" he asks, thrilled KJ is letting him do this.

"Of course I want to wear it," KJ murmurs, a bit dazed. Excited.

Logan points out the cuff they want to the guy who hands it over and runs his card through the machine. He doesn't even bother asking the price, barely checks the amount or the receipt, simply tucking it into his wallet before turning to KJ with the piece. "Which wrist?"

"Right," KJ says, holding out his wrist. Nearly quivering with anticipation.

Logan slips the cuff onto KJ's wrist, shifting it into place, the end of the nail positioned so it can't get snagged on anything.

Softly KJ traces his finger around the length, from head to point. "This looks wicked," he whispers, stunned. Impulsively he kisses Logan again, throwing his arms around his neck.

Logan grins into the kiss, wrapping his arms around KJ in return. "I'm glad you like it. It looks good on you."

"Thank you." KJ whispers the words against Logan's mouth, before stepping back to take his hand again.

It's only as they're leaving the shop that Logan notices the three guys giving them dirty looks. "Fucking faggots," the one guy says to his friends, clearly making sure Logan and KJ hear him.

Logan just laughs and shakes his head, leading KJ further along the boardwalk and away from the shop, every sense attuned to whether they're being followed, tracked, whether the guys have moved on. Luckily they have. As much as he'd enjoy making them regret their stupidity, he's doing his best to behave like a normal human being these days. "Fucking assholes," he murmurs to KJ.

"Yeah." KJ's hands are clenched fists at his sides, and he can't tell whether he feels more relief or fury. "I guess we were being pretty blatant."

"So?" Logan says. "They wouldn't have spared a second glance at a girl kissing her boyfriend that way. Although, who knows, they might have yelled slut at her." He shakes his head again. "You're okay with us just moving on? Not saying anything back?"

KJ swiftly glances back over his shoulder, checking that they're not being followed by the model citizens in question. "Three of them, two of us... The one guy looked pretty skinny, but... No, you're the only one I want beating my ass."

Logan laughs. He knows he could have taken them easily, him alone, but he doesn't say so. He just takes KJ's hand again, bringing it to his mouth and brushing his lips across the back.

KJ smiles at that, and lets the sudden blackness wash from his mood. "Look, a photograph gallery. Could you see yourself ever putting your pictures out for everyone to look at?"

"I'm not that good," Logan says, ducking his head a little. "I don't think anyone would want to see my stuff."

"I want to." KJ grins and gives his fingers a squeeze. "I'd love to see what you've worked on."

"I'll show you." Logan grins back. That was never in doubt. "Remind me. I still need to take you out to the guesthouse. That's where I keep all my creative stuff - my writing and my pictures."

"That's the spot, huh?" KJ asks, thrilled by Logan's easy invitation. "Do you like that, having a spot dedicated to your work instead of just writing anywhere?"

Logan nods. "Yeah, I do. I'm more disciplined that way," he explains, rubbing his thumb over the back of KJ's hand as they walk. "I can write elsewhere and I write when I travel, bits and pieces, but it feels like actually going to work, like I'm a real writer, when I go out there and put in a day or a few hours even."

"Do you feel like that's what you're meant to do, aside from it all?" KJ asks. "Write?"

"I think so." Logan's quiet for a moment. "I mean, I don't think I'll ever be on any bestseller list and I don't really care if I am, but even when I was working, I was writing things in my head and it feels good getting them out on paper, or the screen," he laughs. "Out of my head anyway, and I'd like to be published at some point. I don't care if I only sell ten copies. I'd like to actually hold a book I wrote in my hand. See it in a bookstore."

"That would be a thrill, yeah." KJ laughs and drags a hand through his hair. "I think my first, I don't know, fifty purchases probably came from people I knew, or friends of my mum's. She told everyone, 'My son wrote an app, buy my son's app.'"

"That's wonderful," Logan says, feeling that small pang of jealousy he always feels when hearing about normal parents. "What about your music though? You're really good. It's not something you'd want to try and make a go of?"

That fetches a bashful smile. "Nah. I mean, thank you. But I'm only good at playing other people's music, not my own," KJ says. "I guess it was silly to hope all this," he gestures around, "the world tour would give me some kind of signal of what I'm meant to do."

"How long have you been travelling?" Logan asks. They've talked about where KJ's been and where he's going but not how long it's taken.

"About... six? Six months," KJ answers, savoring the quiet caress on his hand. "I plan on just a couple more before I head home."

"Maybe it's one of those things," Logan suggests, already hating the thought of KJ on the other side of the world, "where you need to reach the end and reflect back on the journey before you'll know."

KJ snorts a laugh. "You're an optimist. You know how I know? Because I was thinking more like I'll get back and I _still_ won't know." He gives Logan a gentle shoulder-bump. "Your view is much cheerier."

"It's the meds," Logan teases, bumping back, amused at the thought of himself as an optimist. "I take it the 9 to 5 grind doesn't appeal?"

"I don't mind the thought of that. But I want to do something that matters. Something that makes a difference to someone." KJ pauses as they pass a gallery, and points at a small robot sculpted from tin cans. "Check these little dudes out."

"That's so cool," Logan says. "Do you want to go in?"

"Yeah, let's check it out." This time KJ consciously holds Logan's hand, forcing the issue into the open as they step into the gallery. It's a subtle reward when the shopkeeper hardly blinks before greeting them.

"We were just admiring the robots in the window," Logan explains, nodding towards the 'little dudes' as KJ called them.

"Good work from beginning to end," the salesman tells them. "The artist and his wife make meals for homeless people around town. Then afterwards, they recycle the food tins into the sculptures you see here. Profits from the sales get churned right back into covering the costs of the meals."

"That's amazing," KJ agrees, then tugs Logan a step closer. "Check out this blue guy," he says, grinning at one of the robots. "I love how surprised he looks."

"He's awesome," Logan says, checking him out as well. "These are so cool." He glances at the shopkeeper. "Did the same guy do the sharks as well?"

"That's actually a different artist. Same concept, but he works on a much larger scale, as you've seen," the man explains.

"I've got to get this guy for my sister," KJ murmurs, after checking out several different sculptures but coming back to his first choice. "Do you ship internationally?"

"We do," the salesman says with a smile, and bustles to grab a sales tablet.

"My family's gotten a lot of surprise gifts fro me these past few months," KJ tells Logan as he starts filling out the shipping form. "Whenever I see something I love, I just send it back to them. That way I'll still get to see it again."

"Good thinking," Logan says with a grin, enjoying the opportunity to simply watch KJ while he's dealing with his purchase.

It's wrapped up soon enough, and KJ turns back to Logan with a wide smile, the homophobic incident of earlier completely shoved aside in favor of appreciating the moment.

"I wonder if there's any way of making them weatherproof," Logan says, taking KJ's hand again and checking out the robots once more.

"You're thinking of putting them outside? A little army for personal and home security?" KJ asks, and leans his head on Logan's shoulder for a moment.

"Ha! That's a good idea, but no, I was thinking I like the look of them. They'd look cute in my garden," Logan says, "but I guess one would get lonely. I'd have to buy two to keep each other company." He grins, well aware he's being silly and rather enjoying it.

"You would, yeah." KJ looks around at the different offerings on display; some of the robots really do seem to have their own personalities. "These two look like they could be having a conversation together," he says. "See, that one just said something ridiculous, and this one looks shocked."

"You sure he didn't suggest something really inappropriate?" Logan suggests with a playful leer.

"Oh, that's it." KJ drops his voice and speaks for Logan's ears only. "Hey Spike, c'mere. I wanna put some needles in your pipes." Come to think of it, he _has_ been pretty shocked by a lot of things Logan has said.

Logan laughs. He waves the shopkeeper over. "Can I buy these two," he asks, pointing out the robots in question, "but have you hold onto them? I'll come back and pick them up tomorrow or the day after." If they're not waterproof, he's sure there's some way of making them so.

"Yes, of course."

KJ looks closer at the two robots as Logan pays, tickled because now he can't imagine them as innocently as he did a few minutes ago. Nope, now their expressions are fixed in mischief. "Yeah, that one definitely said something dirty," he murmurs to Logan with a grin.

"And the other would be squirming if he could," Logan murmurs back, another quick glance around the shop before he slides his hand down to KJ's ass and gives it a squeeze.

God help KJ, he actually giggles — and yeah, he squirms. The salesman emerges from the back with Logan's receipt, and they duck out back into the sunlight of the boardwalk. Just in time for him to burst into laughter.

Logan just grins, his expression rather smug. "I'm going to arrange them so the one has his hand on the other's one ass."

"The other one likes it like that," KJ assures him, still snickering breathlessly. "You'll have the perviest robot garden in town." He brushes his lips over Logan's fingers.

Logan's grin settles into a smile, his gaze soft and warm on the man beside him. "I'll keep rearranging them," he promises. "Send you pics of each new tableau."

"That'll be so great." KJ glances around, then points at the beach, crowded at this time of day with sun worshipers. "Is that our driftwood?" he asks, thinking it's got to be the same place they met.

Logan takes a good look at the beach. "I think it's been moved a little," he says after a moment, "but yeah, that's it." He grins. "Want a selfie with our wood?"

That's all it takes for KJ to break into snickers again. "Yes," he says with a squeeze of Logan's hand as they head across the stretch of sand. "Definitely. I should've brought my bikini."

"Or your budgie smugglers," Logan teases.

"Listen to you, sounding like a native. I'm going to get a stitch in my side from laughing so much." But there'll be no mistaking KJ's happy smile in the pictures.

Logan beams at that, happy to know he can still make those around him laugh. He takes a few selfies of them standing - and sitting - on the driftwood before a girl asks him to take a picture of her and her friends and he agrees, getting her to return the favour, his arm around KJ, the two of them leaning together. "I'll share these all with you," he tells KJ, getting his phone back from the girl and taking one more of KJ on his own. 

"I'm counting on it." KJ gives the girls a friendly wave goodbye before slipping his shoes off. He jogs out into the shallows of the low tide, just to feel the wet sand on his toes.

"Have you got out surfing while you've been here?" Logan calls out, taking a couple more pictures before he joins KJ, his own shoes left by the piece of driftwood.

"I spent a day out on - where was it? - Leo Carrillo. Really relaxing. Meditative, even," KJ answers with a smile for Logan, since he knows he shares a passion for the waves. "Do you have a favorite spot?"

"I like Zuma, Malibu too. Surfrider? I've been to Carrillo though. It's got a nice slow-rolling break," Logan says with a nod. "Venice is good when it's good but it's pretty finicky."

"Did you get to surf the East coast at all, when you visited Auckland? The drive's a little bit longer than to the west, but I think it's worth it. My favorite bar is Mangawhai. You have to paddle out kind of far to get to it, but once you're there it's awesome," KJ says, looking off to the horizon like he can see home.

"I didn't." Logan sighs in disappointment. "I didn't get to do much of anything while I was there," he says, glancing over at KJ. "Can you imagine living anywhere else?"

"Yeah. Especially because, since seeing more of the world, there's more of it I feel comfortable in." KJ bends down and plucks a flat stone from the sand by his feet. "I'd miss my family, though. But not at the expense of new experiences."

Logan nods. So there might be hope... at least of some sort. Some middle-ground to be found. But he's getting ahead of himself and shouldn't even be thinking this way. They're going to Iceland, after which he's going to do his goddamn job and KJ's going to finish his world tour. It still doesn't stop him from saying, "I could live pretty much anywhere at this point. Long as I was close to the water," he adds with a smile.

"I guess if you always travel for work anyway, then you've got that freedom. That's cool. This place..." KJ glances around, then sends the rock skipping. "This is great. But L.A. itself, I don't know." He shakes his head. "I reckon I'm simply partied out for a while."

"L.A.'s not all partying," Logan says. "There are a lot of nice neighbourhoods, a lot of markets, beaches, green space. And outside the city, less than an hour, even more stuff."

KJ grins at him sidelong. "Is it worth the traffic? I haven't even had the balls to try driving around here."

"It is, definitely," Logan nods. "Especially if you get yourself a nice ride." He grins back.

"Like you have, right." KJ studies the way Logan's eyes sparkle, brighter than the sunlight off the cresting waves. Then he catches himself staring and ducks his head with a chuckle.

"We can take the bike or my car tomorrow," Logan offers, so fucking tempted to kiss KJ again. "Either way, I'll you drive some. You can tell me whether it's worth it."

"All right, deal." KJ stretches his arms back, clasping his hands together. "Sticky rice?"

Logan had planned they'd stay out longer, maybe even have dinner out, but right now, the idea of getting dessert and going home triumphs anything else. They can play tourist tomorrow. He nods, unable to stop smiling, "Sure. Sticky rice."

Of course, KJ can only keep his hands to himself for so long, and by the time they walk back to the house he figures he's behaved for _hours_. So it's not long at all before he's backing Logan against the kitchen counter and licking mango syrup from his lips.

"Fuck, you taste good," Logan murmurs, licking into KJ's mouth, his hands sliding down to the other man's ass, hiking him hard against him.

KJ moans under his breath. "I like being out with you like we're boyfriends," he murmurs, nibbling at Logan's mouth. "But I've been dying to touch you for pretty much forever."

"Yeah?" Logan grins. "You might still have to wait," he teases, even as he's pushing at KJ's shorts, working them over his hips.

"Uh-oh." KJ lifts his hands from Logan's body, though it pains him. "Is now when I'm supposed to remind you of something?"

Logan nods. "Although if you don't want me to..." he murmurs, eyes sparkling, fingers curling around KJ's cock.

KJ's breath shudders from him. "Your hand's on my prick. You can do absolutely anything you want to me," he says with a little smile.

Those words... Logan grins and goes to his knees, taking KJ's shorts with him.

Another shaky breath, and KJ reaches out to lightly rest his hand on Logan's shorn head. Testing.

"Just remember, I'm more enthusiasm than skill," Logan says, hand still wrapped around KJ's cock as he flicks his tongue over and around the crown.

KJ huffs out a laugh. "Enthusiasm works just fine," he murmurs, as Logan's mouth draws out a bead of precome.

"Good." Logan grins, sucking the head into his mouth, tongue teasing into the slit.

With a groan KJ curls his fingers around the edge of the counter, his other hand on Logan's head. He watches eagerly, still trying to reconcile this reality.

Logan groans as he takes KJ deeper, glancing up to meet his gaze, his cock jerking sharply. Both hands going to KJ's hips as that gorgeous silky cock slides down his throat. His head bobbing as he takes him in again and again.

"Oh god, Logan," KJ whispers, enchanted by the sight. "You feel so damn good."

Logan grins around his mouthful, winking up at KJ. He tilts his head back, opening his throat and touches KJ's hand, urging him to take what he wants.

KJ moans. The wink plus that wicked mouth send him spinning. He picks up the pace, taking it a little faster, a little harder. "Please," he gasps, tingles thrilling through him. "Please can I have your fingers?"

Fuck. Those pleas... Logan shoves two fingers into his mouth alongside KJ's cock, getting them good and wet before he reaches around, rubbing them over and around and then into KJ's hole.

It pushes KJ off the edge immediately. He clenches tight at Logan's fingers and comes with a shout, pleasure roaring through his body.

Logan struggles to swallow every last drop, choking a little near the end, but he's grinning as he pulls off, easing his fingers free and wiping his mouth on the back of his other arm.

Dizzily KJ drops to his knees on the kitchen floor. He fists his hands in Logan's shirt, dragging him in for a deep kiss.

The kiss takes Logan by surprise, although it shouldn't, brain and body taking a second to sync before he's kissing KJ back, clutching at him every bit as hard.

KJ cups Logan's cock, stroking him through his jeans. "I want you to fuck me," he whispers, and nibbles at Logan's bottom lip.

"You sure?" Logan teases but he doesn't even give KJ room to answer. "Brace yourself against the island," he orders, already rocking to his feet, a condom and lube pulled from the odds and ends drawer.

"Yes, sir." God it feels good to say that, feels good to do this: for KJ to let all the trappings and expectations of the world fall away. To be nothing but a hole for Logan, to bring him pleasure and take what he's given in return. 

Logan unzips his jeans, freeing his aching cock from its confines. Rolls the condom on, slicking it liberally with lube before moving behind KJ, two fingers pushed inside him again, crooked just so, seeking out that bundle of nerves as he opens him up.

KJ whimpers, hyper-sensitive and vulnerable to every press of those clever fingers. "How do you know?"

"How do I know what?" Logan murmurs, kissing the side of KJ's throat.

KJ's head tips back, his eyes shutting. "How do you know just - _fuck_ \- how to touch me?"

"Because I know what feels good," Logan says with a smile, playing over KJ's sweet spot with perfect precision. "And your every reaction confirms it. Gives me more clues. Lets me know exactly what does it for you." And because, as aching as he is, his lover already having come once, KJ's pleasure is still first and foremost in his mind.

With a moan KJ nudges his hips back. His cock never went fully limp and now it's swelling again. He leans forward and presses his chest flat to the kitchen island, offering himself up.

"You are so fucking gorgeous," Logan murmurs, a third finger working to stretch KJ open, make room for his cock, his gaze roaming over his lover.

KJ flushes hot and feels it all the way down to his toes. He certainly doesn't think of himself that way, but the way Logan says it? He believes. 

Unable to wait any longer, Logan pulls his fingers free and wipes them on his jeans. He takes his cock in hand, lining up and pushing in with a low groan, the tight heat shoving everything else from his mind, but this, this incredible tight heat, this perfect fit, this - fuck. "That's it," he murmurs. "Take my cock..."

"Yes," KJ whispers, pushing out to take Logan deeper. He feels sublime, heat licking up his spine. Impossible fullness taking his breath away. "Yes!"

Logan sinks his cock into KJ once, twice and again, the path easing, muscles relaxing, before he starts picking up speed, hands going to KJ's hips, fingers digging bruises into his skin.

KJ whimpers and scrabbles for the edge of the island to hang on. Logan is coring him open as hard as he could want and it's fucking amazing. He rocks with the force of each thrust, pushing back when he can but mostly just taking it. Fully hard and needy again already.

"Oh, fuck," Logan murmurs, drawing back to the tip, using his thumbs to spread KJ open, eyes hot on his hole and the way the head of his cock keeps slipping inside. "I wish I could fuck you raw, fill your cunt with my come..." _Make you mine._

God, that's tempting. KJ groans, shivering at the words, the thought of feeling Logan slide bare inside him. It pushes him that much closer to the edge. "Fuck me, you're so good," he gasps, a wave of pleasure beginning to crest. "You feel so good inside me."

"You feel so good wrapped around me," Logan grits out, returning to fucking KJ as hard as he can, the way they both like it best. "So fucking tight, hot..."

"Please," KJ gasps, and tightens his grip on the edge of the island. "I'm so close, sir, please let me come for you!"

Logan nods. "Do it. Come, boy," he orders, ready to follow KJ over.

A few quick strokes is all it takes. KJ's climax roars through him, intensifying the feeling of every deep thrust. Leaving him shaking and struggling to keep his feet.

Logan manages to hold out for a moment longer, letting KJ buck against him, pinning and fucking him even harder, but then he comes too, shouting out his pleasure, every hot heavy spurt emptied into the latex between them.

"Oh god. Oh my god," KJ murmurs, like it's a prayer that will keep him safe and whole. He fists both hands on the island's edge again, trying to ground himself.

"I've got you," Logan promises, dropping to press a kiss to the back of KJ's neck before he eases out and discards the rubber. He draws KJ into his arms and kisses him again, on the mouth, properly this time. "Bed?" Food, water, anything else, he'll come back down for later.

"Mm-hmm." But Logan would have a tough time leaving just now -- KJ wraps his arms around him and kisses him back with a whimper, like he's trying to push himself deep inside. Safe.

Logan gives up on trying to move them anywhere for the moment and just hugs KJ back, kissing him softly again and again, leaning them both against the island.

Easing slowly back, KJ works to loosen some of the tension from his own frame -- so as not to cling like a limpet. He edits his words on the fly to, "How are you so hot?"

"Says you," Logan returns with a smile.

"Yeah, I do," KJ says with a laugh, and finally relaxes. "So you're taking me to bed?"

"You seem a little unsteady on your feet," Logan says. "I thought you might appreciate being horizontal for a while." His smile widens. "I know I would."

KJ laughs again, and yeah-- unsteady it is. "Yeah," he agrees, taking Logan's hands and walking backwards towards the bedroom.

"Don't trip," Logan warns him, making sure they make it safely up the stairs. He pushes KJ down onto the bed, liberating him of the rest of his clothes before shucking his own. "So, when are we heading to Iceland?"

"I don't know." KJ shrugs. "We've already got plans for tomorrow." He tries to hold a straight face but doesn't quite manage it. "How about, as soon as we can get a flight?"

Logan laughs, linking their hands and playing with KJ's fingers. "So flights, a rental car I assume, hotels on the fly?"

"I don't mind staying someplace scrubby," KJ murmurs, studying Logan's eyes with a little smile. "With you."

Logan grins. "While I appreciate the sentiment," he says, holding KJ's gaze, "I'm not going to put you anywhere scrubby. Not on your world tour. I'm just not sure we need actual reservations at this time of year. Unless there's somewhere you had your heart on staying?"

KJ shakes his head. "Nowhere in particular. I don't know if there's anywhere you can stay that _doesn't_ have a beautiful view, so I think we're good. But we definitely should try to get a cabin under the stars for when we watch the Northern Lights," he says, trailing his finger over Logan's knuckles. "So we can watch them all night."

"Sounds good to me," Logan agrees happily, once again floored that he _just_ met this man. "Are you tired?"

"A little. Can I...?" KJ rolls over, then snugs his back up against Logan's chest, pulling his arm around him. "That okay?"

"Definitely," Logan nods, hugging KJ close, nose pressed to the back of his neck, breathing him in.

"That feels good," KJ murmurs, then laughs. "I like having you behind me."

Logan laughs too. "I like being behind you," he returns, unable to stop grinning.

KJ grins and laces their fingers together. "When's your birthday? And how do you like to celebrate it?" he asks, wanting to know every detail about his new lover.

"November 1st," Logan says, chuckling a little as he admits, "Mostly I've just gotten drunk or high with friends and last year I didn't bother celebrating. What about you?"

"June 16th. This year I was in Botswana with my best mate," KJ answers, and yawns.

"Yeah? Who's your best mate?" Logan asks, wondering who he would describe as such if asked. Probably Tommy. Which is weird on its own.

"Kev. Remember the story I told you about the guy who surprised my sister with a truckload of roses? That was Kev." KJ chuckles, "Not that it worked for him."

Logan laughs. "Why didn't he come on more of your trip? Is he working?"

"Yeah, he builds furniture. Carves it too, he does beautiful work. He ended up marrying a girl from our grade and they're expecting a little girl now," KJ says. "Now, you: why didn't you celebrate last year? Were you in the hospital then?"

"No." Logan shakes his head. "But I was still sorting out my meds and most of my friends were in relationships or out of country." He chuckles. "It was too much of a hassle."

KJ turns his head and kisses Logan. "This year, you'll celebrate."

"You think so, do you?" Logan grins, kissing KJ back.

"I know so. You've earned it." KJ settles back in with another yawn.

Logan's not too sure about that but maybe KJ's still right. Hopefully he'll be in a better place to celebrate this year. "You should sleep some," he suggests. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay." KJ licks at Logan's fingers and shuts his eyes.


End file.
